College Students with ADHD Use Cannabis More Often to Cope with Negative Emotions | Research

The takeaway

In a daily diary study of heavy-drinking college students, those with ADHD used cannabis more frequently, driven by stronger motivation to use cannabis to cope with negative emotions.

college counselors, ADHD specialists, addiction prevention researchers, college students with ADHD

What the researchers found

Students with ADHD had significantly elevated coping motives (using cannabis to avoid or reduce negative affect) and more cannabis use days over two weeks. ADHD was linked to cannabis use frequency through coping motives — students with ADHD had a stronger drive to use cannabis to manage negative emotions, which led to more frequent use.

Why it matters

Understanding that ADHD drives cannabis use specifically through emotional coping needs — not just impulsivity — suggests that teaching adaptive coping skills could be a targeted intervention for reducing cannabis misuse in college students with ADHD.

The numbers in context

42 students with ADHD, 30 without. 49% female. Two-week daily diary. ADHD associated with elevated coping motives and more cannabis use days. Significant indirect effect through coping motives.

How the study worked

Two-week daily diary study of heavy-drinking college students (49% female): 42 with ADHD, 30 without. Assessed baseline coping motives and daily cannabis use frequency. Tested indirect effect of ADHD on cannabis use days through coping motives.

What this study cannot tell us

Small sample (n=72). Selected heavy-drinking students, so not representative of all college students with ADHD. Two-week observation period. Cannot determine causation. Self-reported ADHD and cannabis use.

How to read the evidence

Daily diary methodology captures real-world behavior, but small sample, selected population (heavy drinkers), and short observation period limit generalizability.

When this study was published

2025 publication.

The bigger picture

College is a high-risk period for substance use, and ADHD further increases vulnerability. Identifying coping motives as the mechanism provides a clear intervention target: helping students with ADHD develop substance-free strategies for managing negative emotions.

Questions still open

Would teaching adaptive coping skills reduce cannabis use in college students with ADHD?
Do ADHD medications affect cannabis coping motives?

Common questions

Why do college students with ADHD use more cannabis?

This study found it is not just impulsivity — students with ADHD use cannabis more specifically to cope with negative emotions. This coping motivation was the pathway linking ADHD to more frequent cannabis use over a two-week period.

How can college students with ADHD reduce cannabis use?

Since this study identified emotional coping as the key driver, targeted interventions teaching adaptive, substance-free coping skills for managing negative affect may be most effective for this population.

Read the original research

ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives.

Substance use & misuse, 60(8), 1181-1191

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Taubin, Daria; Oddo, Lauren E; Bounoua, Nadia; Bui, Hong N T; Murphy, James G; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea. (2025). ADHD and Cannabis Use in College Students: Examining Indirect Effects of Coping Motives.. Substance use & misuse, 60(8), 1181-1191. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2025.2491770